"So this is Inchor, huh?" a loud voice says with awe.
The man who spoke brings his hand up to his eyes to shield them from the sun as he took in the sight. Tall stone walls stood before him, a shield protecting the city from any grave threat that may approach with ill-intent.
"Meh, I've seen bigger."
"Wha!?"
A second voice, this one belonging to a woman, steals the enthusiasm from the first, clearly unimpressed.
"Come on Lydia, let Christopher enjoy himself. You know he loves the thrill of visiting a new place."
A third voice chimes in, gently reminding Lydia of why Christopher is so excited.
"Oh come on David, I said to call me Chris!"
Both Lydia and David start laughing as Christopher awkwardly scolds David. They are both joined by the laughter of three others.
"Careful now, you're upsetting the leader!"
The first one, another woman, says while laughing, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Yeah, listen to Grace, you wouldn't want to get kicked out!"
The second voice, this time a man, laughs along with her.
"Oh please Garret, you're only saying that because you like Grace!"
"Urk!? Henry!?"
The third voice, Henry, gets the entire group laughing once more as Garret squirms where he stands, flustered. Grace pats him softly on the shoulder.
"Its okay, I think it's cute," she says, a small blush on her face.
"Then will you go out with me?"
"No way!"
The entire group starts laughing at Garret once more. He clutches at his chest upon hearing her words.
"My heart... It's broken..!"
"Stop being dramatic you dummy," Grace says, giggling to herself.
"Yes ma'am!"
Garret immediately straightens up, as if he had never been rejected in the first place.
"Okay, focus everyone," Christopher says, only just barely having stopped laughing himself. "Remember, were here to do a quest."
"We remember, that guard quest," Lydia says with a grin.
"Why exactly are we doing that quest? Surely there are better quests we can do?" Garret asks, confused.
"Garret, you're the one who said you wanted to do this quest so that you could try and take Grace on a date during the festival!"
"Urk! You weren't supposed to say that captain!"
Everyone laughs at Garret once more.
"Besides," Chris continues amongst the laughter. "There are some good quests being held here in Inchor. Not only that, they say that if you impress the Guild here, you could be reccomended to more important clientele for bigger jobs."
They all nod as Christopher looks at the walls confidently.
"Well? Let's not keep standing here, let's go in," Lydia says, stealing the wind from Christopher's sails once more with her curt tone.
"Ugh, you're right..."
The excitement robbed from him once more, Chris leads his group forward towards the guards at the gate. As they approach, the guard stops them, holding up his hand.
"Purpose of your visit?"
"A quest. The six of us are Adventurer's," Chris answers.
The guard takes a moment to look at all of them.
First was Chris. He had bright-blonde hair that seemed slightly unruly, and his eyes were strong and confident, brown in color. He wore flashy armor made of iron, but colored white with gold trimmings around the edges. At his side was a long sword with a clean white hilt.
Second was Lydia. She had long black hair that was tied back in a ponytail, though even then it still reached the middle of her back, swaying with every shift in her weight. Her eyes were a deep purple, and her face was hard with distinct features, though not in a way that subtracted from her beauties. Instead of the full iron armor like Chris was wearing, she was dressed lightly with leather armor beneath a finely made black cloak with beasts of white thread sewn across it. At her waist were too long and thin daggers.
Third was David. He had brown hair that was slightly longer than the average man, sitting tucked just behind his ears. His eyes were a mix of green and blue, accentuating his rather soft and comforting face. A light stubble grew just under his chin while the rest of his face was clean shaven. At his waist was a simple sword, one that was perfect for the average quest. Unlike the first two, his apparel was rather plain, opting to wear only some light leather armor over his normal clothing.
Fourth was Grace. She had long blue hair that flowed gently from the wind, always being tucked back behind only her left ear. Her eyes were a light blue as well, and her face was soft and inviting. For a weapon, she had a large bow slung over her back, intricately carved out from the wood used to make it. The string connecting the two ends was thin but firm, proving to be dependable. A quiver full of arrows sat just next to her bow, finely made and ready for battle at a moments notice. She didn't seem to be wearing any armor, instead opting for a more casual outfit that was surprisingly cute on her.
Fifth was Garret. He had light red hair that spiked out every-which way in random directions, completely out of control. His eyes were brown in color, and every few seconds they would glance at Grace, quickly turning away if she happened to notice. For a weapon, he had a large shield on his back, red in color, and a sword at his waist. All of his clothing was dark-red leather, providing protection over the entirety of his body.
Lastly, there was Henry. He had short black hair with dull gray eyes that betrayed his relaxed and happy nature. He had a sword that could be seen sticking out from beneath the bottom of his plain gray cloak, but his armor was hidden beneath it as well.
"I see, six adventurers," the guard said. "Let me see everyone's ID."
Doing as they were told, each of them took turns showing the guard their ID as proof of their status as an Adventurer.
"Hmm, don't I recognize your names?" the guard suddenly asked after having examined each ID.
Christopher grinned at the question.
"You may have heard of us. We're the Adventuring group, Monster Party!"
"Oh yeah, I've remember now. Your the party that's been making a name for itself in the Vikzen territory to the east, right?"
"That would be us," Chris proudly answered.
"I see. A strange party name if you ask me. Well, you and your party are allowed entry," the guard said, stepping aside.
As the group passed the guard and walked through the gate, Chris couldn't help but tease.
"I told you the new gear would make us recognizable!"
"It wasn't the gear. He only recognized us after seeing our names," Lydia curtly said.
"Maybe, but the gear will make us recognizable in the future. The more places we visit with this gear, the more people are bound to start recognizing us, especially if we keep making a name for ourselves like we have."
Unbothered by Lydia's latest curt comments, Chris marched on, leading the group into the city which was incredibly crowded.
"Lot of people over here, more than I would have expected," Garret commented as he looked around, occasionally glancing at Grace.
"True, but lets focus. Now then, all we have to do is find the Guild building and apply for the quest."
"Do you mean the guard quest for the festival?" a voice from the crowd suddenly spoke up.
"Why yes actually, I do," Chris answered.
"In that case, you can skip the Guild building entirely. Go the the guard building, there is where you sign up for the quest."
"I see, thanks for the advice," Chris said, starting to walk away, but Garret stopped.
"Say, do you know why there are so many people over here?" he asked the man that had just given them advice.
"The amount of people? From what I've heard, the prices for stall locations in the south got more expensive while the stall locations everywhere else in the city got cheaper. Almost makes me regret getting here a week early to secure a good spot," the man chuckled.
"Huh, I see. Thanks," Garret said, waving before catching up with the group.
"Did you guys hear that?" Garret asked once he was back with the group.
"Yeah, we heard," Lydia answered as the rest nodded. "I wonder why the south is more expensive than the rest of the city?"
"Maybe they don't want people near the south?" David chimed in, giving his own opinion.
"Maybe, but then why do they want everyone out of the south?" Garret asked.
The group went quiet, pondering the question before Christopher spoke up once more.
"I don't know why they are clearing people out of the south, but if they're doing it, there must be a reason for it. Perhaps we now know which part of the city we want to be guarding after all," Chris said with a smile on his face, unconcerned. "This might be our chance to get on the good side of the Guild here in Inchor."
The rest of the group laughed, just as confident as he was.
"Come on, let's get to the guard building and join the southern gate with protection."